Tag: chicken

Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole (No Soup Required)

Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole (No Soup Required)

Look no further for a cheesy casserole packed with chicken, broccoli, and rice

Sesame Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

Sesame Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

Looking for a veggie-centric stir fry? This IS the recipe!

Chicken Thighs in Mushroom & White Wine Sauce

Chicken Thighs in Mushroom & White Wine Sauce

This is a delicious rustic dish that I create with lots of sauce so I can serve it with buttery noodles or rice. It’s also good served in a bowl with some crusty bread; you decide. You can certainly cut down on the sauce if you want but oh, why would you want to?

lola rugula chicken thighs with garlicky mushroom and white wine sauce

Chicken Thighs in Garlicky Mushroom & White Wine Sauce Recipe

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 large shallots, cut in half and sliced thin
  • 6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 lb. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

  • Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet
  • Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper
  • Add 3 chicken thighs, skin side down, to pan and brown until golden, about 4 minutes
  • Turn chicken over and cook for 3-4 minutes more
  • Transfer chicken to a plate
  • Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil
  • Repeat with remaining 3 pieces of chicken and then transfer to the plate
  • Reduce heat to medium
  • Add shallots and garlic and stir, cook for 1 minute
  • Add mushrooms and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir
  • Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release their moisture
  • Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture and stir well
  • Cook for another 5 minutes or until the flour starts to brown on the bottom of the pan
  • Increase heat back to medium-high and add wine, scraping pan while stirring, for 1 minute
  • Add the broth, stirring well and continue scraping the pan
  • Stir in pepper flakes and herbs and remove from heat
  • Transfer the chicken back into to the sauce, skin side up
  • Place in preheated oven cook for 45 minutes, uncovered

Again, I especially love this served with a side of buttery noodles; it’s comfort food at its finest.

lola rugula chicken thighs with garlicky mushroom and white wine sauce

This works great with chicken thighs because the dark meat just adds to the flavor and also doesn’t dry out as fast as chicken breast does. Can you make this with chicken breast? Of course! If you do want to use chicken breast, I recommend using skin-on breasts. Also, be sure to cut the oven time down and realize that the sauce isn’t going to have quite the same flavor.

You can also make this with white mushrooms but again, portobello mushrooms are going to be a richer flavor. You can also omit the wine altogether if you prefer or sub in some additional chicken stock.

Don’t have shallots? A thinly sliced white onion will work.

If you’re craving a rustic, flavor-packed chicken dish, this is a delicious solution. Enjoy!

Easy Sauteed Chicken Livers and Garlic Recipe

Easy Sauteed Chicken Livers and Garlic Recipe

Lola Rugula easy sauteed chicken livers recipe with garlic

Chicken Thighs with Preserved Lemon, Garlic, and Olives

Chicken Thighs with Preserved Lemon, Garlic, and Olives

Looking for an easy recipe for chicken with preserved lemon and olives? This is definitely it. The classic version of this dish has Moroccan roots, is traditionally cooked in a tagine (which is also the name of the stewed dish itself), and involves a myriad 

Spicy Honey Sesame Chicken Wings

Spicy Honey Sesame Chicken Wings

If you’re looking for a great chicken wing recipe with just a hint of heat but a ton of flavor, these are your wings. And, if you don’t subscribe to the “wings have to be nuclear” line of thought, you might also love my spicy apricot wings, because they’re pretty delicious without being crazy hot, also. And don’t be tied down to doing this recipe with wings, because it’s a great sauce for legs, thighs, and even chicken breast, you’ll just have to adjust your cooking time accordingly.

I happened to have hung with a crowd from the Buffalo, NY area during the original Buffalo-style chicken wings heyday back in my New Haven days, and I can tell you they didn’t actually involve much more than deep frying the wings and then tossing them in Frank’s Red Hot, butter and (shhhhh) a shot of Amaretto while they were still hot. True story.  Not very exciting but that’s my story. I still swear by Frank’s Red Hot if you want hot wings because it’s a great, flavorful base to making a tasty hot chicken wing.

I’ll state here that I’m not in the camp of breading chicken wings or deep frying them; I like roasting mine in a hot oven and, if needed, crisping them up for a couple of minutes under the broiler. Less grease, less mess and a wee bit healthier. I also can’t stand a soggy-skin chicken wing. Char it a little and crisp up the skin or don’t bother giving it to me.

Chicken sauces are fun to play around with, as you can do so much in the way of flavors, so I try and mix things up once in a while. The sliced scallions and sesame seeds are key toppings with these wings because they add a huge burst of flavor and crunch to the overall dish. Mostly though, these are just chicken wings…have fun with them for Pete’s sake.

lola rugula sesame chicken wings

Spicy Honey Sesame Chicken Wings Recipe

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon Thai hot chili garlic paste
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 3.5 lbs chicken wings, cut at the joints, wing tips reserved for making stock at a later time. (about 3 lbs wing and drumettes)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients (garlic through rice vinegar) and whisk together well.  Add chicken wings, toss well and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425º

  1. Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil.(for easy clean-up, line with aluminum foil first)
  2. Place wings on baking sheet, skin side up. Reserve any extra marinade.
  3. Roast wings for 10 minutes. Turn wings over and brush with some of the reserved marinade.
  4. Roast 15 minutes, turn wings over and brush with remaining marinade.
  5. Roast for about 10 more minutes, until wings start to char a bit on the edges.
  6. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle with sliced scallions and sesame seeds and serve.

lola rugula spicy honey sesame chicken wings

These are just about the perfect chicken wing recipe. Spicy, crunchy and full of sweet, hot flavor. If you want more heat, just add some more Thai garlic chili paste. If you don’t have the chili paste, feel free to add some minced jalapeno, habanero or other hot pepper.

lola rugula sesame honey chicken wings

Of course, if you want to lessen the heat, don’t add any chili paste or hot peppers at all..it’s just that simple.

lola rugula sesame honey chicken wings recipe

These babies are sticky, so be sure and serve them with plenty of napkins. 🙂  And if you have to have a dipping sauce with your wings, these will still do just fine alongside your cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Another variation on these is to do them with chicken tenderloin pieces on skewers. They still make a great meal or appetizer this way, but without the mess of bones.

Never, ever be afraid to play with your food.

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

As part of my “back-to-basics” series, I’m sharing my baked chicken breast recipe. I had a long-time aversion to chicken breast because it’s often overcooked, dry and tasteless. Then, after much trial and error, I finally figured out how to bake chicken breast and still